Mamata celebrates in mishap aftermath

The tears haven't dried up from the eyes of those who lost their near and dear ones in the deadly rail accident at

The tears haven't dried up from the eyes of those who lost their near and dear ones in the deadly rail accident at Sainthia.

But instead of ensuring that such accidents don't happen again, some 48 hours after the accident that left 66 dead, Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee was busy celebrating her party's victory in the civic polls - flexing her political muscle and jamming the heart of Kolkata by bringing a record crowd from the districts.

She was celebrating the June 2 civic polls victory and the occasion was "martyr's day" that is observed annually by Trinamool Congress to commemorate the police firing at a Youth Congress rally in 1993, five years before her party was born.

She got her supporters ferried in trains and buses from all over the state to the central Kolkata venue, throwing normal life out of gear.

Addressing the Trinamool Congress supporters, Mamata said that they are yet to achieve victory and that it would be complete only after the Left Front is thrown out of Writers' Buildings in next year's assembly elections.

This brought forth a thunderous applause. Mamata also had popular Bengali singer Nachiketa perform on the stage, much to the joy of her supporters.

She also took a dig at her political rivals for demanding her resignation over the Sainthia accident. She said that she would resign if the CPM guaranteed that it would not indulge in sabotage.

Interestingly, despite the CBI probe hinting at Maoist role in the death of 148 persons in the Jnaneshwari Express accident in May, the Trinamool Congress leader said she would ask the Prime Minister to stop all operations of the joint forces against the Maoists in the troubled areas of Bengal.

"He is a good man and I hope, he will listen to me," she said.

She also said she would organise rallies across the tribal belt in the districts surrounding West Midnapur, Bankura and Purulia from September 1. "Let's see if the CPM can stop me." She also pointed out that her party would bring out such rallies across the state as well and would hold a public meeting at Lalgarh on August 9.

Mamata also promised to return the land to the farmers of Singur after coming to power. And in a bid to woo the minority community, she guaranteed jobs and security after the state election.

The Trinamool supremo claimed that Wednesday's rally was one of the biggest the world has ever seen.

The result was obvious with gigantic traffic snarls strangling the roads leading to the heart of the city. The Metro stations at Esplanade and Park Street became temporary asylums as thousands of Trinamool supporters, who had travelled from remote corners, availed of this opportunity to soak in the city's ambience.

While the staircases in the Metro stations became temporary resting places for Mamata's supporters, their joyrides only added to the woes of regular commuters.

The underground trains overflowed with supporters who took this opportunity to travel to various parts of the city, including the famed red light areas of Sonagachhi and Bowbazar.

"We saw almost 20 per cent rise in clientele today compared with other days," said Parbati Haldar, a worker from Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an NGO working with Sonagachhi's sex workers.

The crowd overflowed in other red light areas as well. "There has been tremendous rush here as well as in Bowbazar area," said a sex worker from Sonagachhi.

"The rally definitely got us good business," she added with a chuckle.

The rally also gave rise to a new set of merchandise. Along the Esplanade Metro station key rings, photo frames and other stuff containing Mamata's photo was being sold by some enterprising youth.

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